Subnautica 2seems to be in hot water right now. Often, a delayed release can offer devs an extra chance to improve the end product. But in this case, glimpses at behind-the-scenes maneuvering hint that Subnautica 2 has stormy seas ahead.
So, what’s the issue? While no official statement has been released, more than enough details have emerged for a picture to start to form.
We can start with the recent and perhaps-shadyremoval of the first game’s creators. Caught completely off guard, the ousted co-founders at Unknown Worlds were “shocked” at their publisher’s decision to swap leadership around.
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Krafton is employing the services of a former Dead Space and Callisto Protocol executive instead.
The game’s publishers released a statement on the matter, wishing the co-founders well, but offering no insight as to why they actually made this move.
There has been something of an update today (thanks,Bloomberg), as a town hall meeting took place within Unknown Worlds to discuss the leadership change.
The game’s new lead, Steve Papoutsis, was asked about a performance bonus that Unknown Worlds’s employees would have gotten from Krafton had they made enough profits in 2025. Without Subnautica 2’s early access release this year, the studio is unlikely to hit that mark - though a major game launch could certainly have pushed them over the threshold.
Papoutsis asserted that the delay to 2026 was about making sure the game was polished enough for release. “The desire of Krafton is to have the very best version of Subnautica 2 available for its early access.”
“While yes, the software that everybody worked on is in a great spot and it felt like, ‘Hey we should launch this,’ that wasn’t where both parties aligned around.”
The bonus Krafton would have paid out to Unknown Worlds was pinned at a total value of $250 million.
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To date, there is no hard evidence that the Krafton-enforced leadership change was intended to undermine Unknown Worlds' chance of receiving the bonus payout. But when you’ve got dots like these, you’re gonna see people drawing lines.
you may see many of these lines on the Subnautica subreddit, where users discuss - and are disgusted by - this news. “Is this why they booted the leadership?“One fanasks. “I thought they were gonna rush the game out the door but now it looks like they wanted to delay it so they wouldn’t have to give the payout…”
Absolutely despicable if that’s the case. And in the complete absence of any explanation from Krafton, I’m going to assume that’s what it is.
Inanother thread, a second user writes: “I feel absolutely disgusted with the way things are going… I won’t give a cent to Subanutica 2, even if it performs well and does a good job.”
The bonus delaying is like taking a dream away from every employee’s head. How can you do that in good conscience?
If dots continue to form along this line, it’s likely we’ll see yet more hints at behind-the-scenes drama. Whether existing theories firm up or get explained away, keep an eye out for more information as Subnautica 2 approaches its - now 2026 - release date.
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